Cam-operated ignition lock



June-10,v 1930. N. FAlRcHlYLDf CAM OPERAIED IGNITION Locx Filed May 25, 1927 2 sheets-she@ f1 ZVShenats-.Sheet l c. 'NQFAIRCHILD CAM O PERATED lI(F{N'I'11QN LOCK Filed May 25, 192'?l June l0, 1930.

Patented June l0, 1930 UNITED STATES LPATENT. OFFICE e CHARLES N. FAIBCHILD, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T FAIRCHILD LOCK CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE CAM-OPERAT'ED IGNITION LOCK Application illed Hay 25, 1927. VSerial No. 194,195.

This invention relates to automobile locks and has for its principal object the provision of a lock in which the locking bolt and the i nition switch are both directly oper- 6 ated y a cam secured to the locking cylinder.

The lock in general is quite similar to that shown in my copending application Serial No. 172,113, filed March 2, 1927 and retains all of the novel features of that lock but omits the direct cooperation between the lockin bolt and the ignition switchstern.

In t e drawings Figure 1 is a face View of the lock.

Figure 2 is a side elevation partly broken awa F1 res 3 to 6 are views in section showing t e parts in locked position, in unlocked position with the circuit broken, in running position and in position just prior to pulling the key from the lock, respectively.

'Figure 7 is a fragmentary view through the kaxes of the rock shaft and the plunger.

Fi ure 8 is a plan view of the blank from Whic the slide 37 is made. f

For convenience of description in the following specification the word top will be used to denote that ortion of the device at which the switch ox is located, but as installed on the automobile, the device is arranged at an angle to both horizontal and vertical since the steerin post casing and the cowl are each slante so that in strict accuracy the top of the lock housing is the edge of the device formed by the meeting of the front face thru which the key is inserted, and the switch box attachin face.

The device in general consists o a housing 10 havin a housing cap 11 each having 1 a semi-cylin rical recess therein matching to form a complete cylindrical bore receiving the steering post casing. Each of the members, 10 and 11, is provlded with a boss,

that of the housing cap being solid and 5 usually an anvil l5 while the boss 16 of the main housing has a central cylindrical opening therein thru which slides the steering post locking bolt 17. The cap 11 is secure to the housing 10 in any desired manner preferably by means of two one-way screws by the 18, the heads 19 of which seat about half way of the bores in the cap after the screws are driven home, and the remainder of these bores are then filled by plugs 20 driven in with a forced fit and finally smoothed flush to the outside of the cap.

The switch box is preferably an insulating block 25 in which are located two resilient, arcuate contact pieces 27 and 28 yspaced apart a convenient distance and which when electrically connected close the ignition circuit. The wires leading to the switch box and connected to the contacts 27 and 28 preferably enter from the rear, that is behind the cowl board. The contact closing element may be of any form desired as may the contacts themselves but the parts are here shown in a form that has been found very satisfactory in practice, the closing element being a metal cup 30 carried by and insulated from the stem 31 which is urged downwardly into open circuit position by a spring 32 confined between the disk 34 and a head 33 on the stem 31. The locking bolt 17 has an enlarged circular head 40 freely slidable in its bore in the plug 41 but is not free to rotate since the head 40 carries a pin 43 projecting thru a slot in the plug 41 so as to lie in the path of the boltv raising cam 44 fast upon the inner or rear end of the cylinder of the springpressed plunger type lock, the barrel of which is denoted 46 in the drawings.

The barrel 46 of the lock is held in place in a tightly fitting bore of the housin by means of a drive pin 47 which may, i desired, be slightly tapered and which, when once driven in, cannot be removed. The slightly larger counterbore of the lock barrel receiving bore in the housing is closed by a cylindrical cap 48 also held in place pin 47. A springy 49 engages the head 40 of the locking bolt 17 and constant-y ly tends to shoot the bolt 17 into locking position.

The slide 35 is formed from a flat sheet of metal having 'in one end a slot 36 which snugly embraces a reduced portion of the stem 31. The body or guiding portion 37 of the slide fits in aslot 38 in the plug 41 and has a downwardly projectin0F portion 39 which is engaged by the lifting cem of the lock i6 so that the stem S31 and consequently the circuit closing cup 30 is lifted solely and directly by the lifting cam.

1Broper movement oi the cylinder or" the lock by means ot its key turns the cam so that the lug or pin #lf3 on the head s() rides up the spiral arc or curve 51 to the point at which time the spring is compressed, the bolt 17 entirely withdrawn 'from locking engagement, and contact is made between the cam and the slide 35 but the latter is not lifted to close the ignition circuit as will be seen by Figure fl showing the parts in this 21"*o position, i. e., just prior to turning to the running position shown in Figure T here are three notches in the edge of the cam Llfl, namely, a notch GO which may be a one-way notch as shown or may be a twoway notch and which receives the cwlnurical pin 43 which acts in this position ss a dctent to hold the parts in third position" when the key can be removed leaving the steering post unlocked and the ignition olin as once was required by police regul 'iz is of a few cities, a notch 61 which must a one-way notch in which the pin i3 is engaged at 215 just beyond third position, and a detent notch 62 which is Yngaged by the pin 43 at ruiming position at 270D as shown in Figure 5. The key can readily turn the lock from 215O to 270O and 2700 to 215, from OO to 1800 and may from 1800 to OO but once the device has been advanced to the 215o position shown in Figure L1 the one-way notch G1 prevents its return to third position which is so named because it was the third position to be invented. Considered merely in terms ot revolution the so-called third position is the first position which is met after the key is inserted in the lock.

is a rock shaft to the Viront of which on the outside of the housing is a lever 71 having a downturned arm 72 and an upturned arm 7 In the 0 position shown in Figure 1 the downturned arm 72 just permits entry of the key into its key hole and the upturned arm 73 entirely clear ot the circular opening 7 in the cylindrical cap 4S which, 1t will be note`, has a slot 7G permitting travel olf the downturned arm 72. In running position the cam has moved the linger or arm 72 so tar that the edge l79 of the lever 71 has engaged against the shoulder S2 of the plunger end the key in this position cannot be turned in clockwise direction because of the engagement ot' its edge with the ugturned end 73 but can be turned counter clockwise back to 215C. lilhen the plunger has been depressed and the stem portion is engaged by the edge 79, the edge ot' the key is in Contact with the upturned end 73. The plunger is held depressed by the lever 71 and the binding action of the lever prevents further movement of the key in a clockwise direction. It will be remembered the key now in position to be withdrawn from the lock and hence need not be turned further in clockwise direction. It the key is now withdrawn the locking bolt 17 will rock the rock shatt 70 and with it he lever 7l and will move to locking position under urge ot its spring 49 and as soon the plunger 83 is released its spring 8' will return it to normal position.

Referring ilarticularly to Figure (3 which shows the locking bolt withdrawn and the ignition circuit closed but with the lock cylinder turned to the 3600 position at which the key can be withdrawn, the pin fll which extends laterally from the locking bolt head is tree to move to locking position tar as the cam is concerned but the locking bolt is held in unlocked position by the rock shaft 70 and nothing can happen until the key is withdrawn. As shown in Figure G the slide 35 has moved slightly downward but only a smell traction ot the distance which is required to break the ignition circuit. rIhe downward nnivement ot the slide 35 when ireed i the lock cylinder lifting cam is -ted by engagement ot the slide with the locking bolt lateral pin 43 and the ignition circuit can only be broken when the locking bolt moves downward whereupon the slide under the urge oi spring 32 will snap down following the bolt and breaking the ignition circuit.

The end of the rock shaft is milled away as at so as to engage in a notch cut in the steering post locking bolt 17 consisting of a plurality of connnunicating grooves such as 91 and 92 meeting in cnsps 93 and Sfl. In driving position, the k y has been turned thru 2700, the ignition is on and the steering gear is unlocked but the key cannot be removed as forward movement is stopped indirectly by the push button or plunger 83. rIhe locking bolt 17 is held retracted by the steel lifting cam lll and also by the steel safety shaft 70 herein termed the rock shaft. The kei,7 however, from this position can be turned backward to the 215O position illustrated in Figure In this position the ignition is olii' but the steering post is unlocked sind t c utomobile can be steered. rllhe key can be turned torward to the position in Fig. 5 but cannot be turned backward to third posiJ at O :ion as previously described and the key cannot be removed. This provision allows a driver to turn his ignition oil and on at will 'under such conditions as mav seein advisable to him and there is no pol bility of the steering postbecoming locked as even it some. of the parts failed the double safety would insure against involuntary locking and absent-minded or accidental locking is prevented because two separate actions are required to move forward to Figure 6 position, one, the pressing in of the plunger and the other the simultaneous turning of the key.

What I claim is 1. In a key operated coincidental lock, a locking bolt, a cam operated ignition switch, means for holding the locking bolt in unlocked position until the key is withdrawn from the lock, and means carried by the locking bolt for holding the ignition switch in circuit closing position when said switch is freed from its cam, whereby the ignition circuit may not be broken until the key is withdrawn from the lock.

2. In a key operated coincidental lock, a locking bolt, a cam operated ignition switch, means for holding the locking bolt in unlocked position until the key is withdrawn from the lock, and means laterally projecting from said bolt for holding the ignition switch in circuit closing position when said ignition switch has otherwise been freed by movement of its cam.

3. In a coincidental lock, a locking bolt, an ignition switch contact, a cam, and means operated by said cam for moving the bolt to unlocked position and for independently moving said contact to ignition circuit closing position.

4. In a coincidental lock, a sliding bolt, a stem carrying an ignition circuit contact, and means for moving said bolt and said stem in the same direction but constantly out of contact with each other into unlocked position and circuit closing position, respectively.

5. In a key operated revolving cylinder coincidental lock, a locking bolt, an ignition make and break contact, and means for first engaging said bolt and for later engaging said contact after further angular travel of the lock cylinder.

6. In an ignition switch, a plurality of contacts, means for resiliently separating said contacts, a lock cylinder, a cam secured to said cylinder, and means engaging one of said contacts and lying in the path of the cam whereby rotation of the cam will bring the two contacts into engagement thereby closing the ignition circuit.

7. In an ignition switch, a plurality of contacts, a third contact for bridging said first mentioned contacts to close the ignition circuit, a stem projecting from the third contact, spring means surrounding said stem resiliently to hold the third contact from bridging position, a member laterally eX- tending from the stem and then bent at an angle, and a cam for engaging ythe laterally extending member to raise the third contact against the action of its spring.

8. The device of claim 7 including means for holding the laterally extending member in bridging vposition after said member is freed from its cam.

9. In an ignition switch, a housing having a bore of two diameters, a disk positioned against the shoulder between the two bores, a hollow cylindrical casing fitting the larger diameter bore of the housing and against said disk, a stem slidably mounted in the housing and guided by one end of the housing and by the disk, said stem eX- tending on both sides of the disk and projecting into the central bore of the casing, a sliding bracket secured to said stem and guided by said casing in its periphery, and cam means engaging an extremity ot said guided bracket for moving said stem. 10. In a coincidental lock, a housing having a bore therethru of three diameters, an ignition switch stem slidable in the smallest bore, a head on said stem, a disk positioned against the shoulder between the intermediate and larger bore, a casing itting the larger bore, a bolt slidable within the casing, a spring between the disk and head, key operated means for moving the bolt and stem in one direction, and means for moving the bolt in the opposite direction independently of the movement of the stem.

11. In a coincidental lock, a housing having a bore of three diameters, an ignition switch stem slidable in the smaller diameter, a disk against the shoulder between the intermediate and larger diameter bores, a plug having a two diameter bore therethru fitting in the larger bore of the housing and having a cylindrical extension projecting beyond the housing to form a boss to be received in the steering post casing, a bolt slidable in the smaller bore of the plug, a head integral with the bolt and sliding in the larger bore of the plug coaxial with the ignition switch stem, and means for raising the bolt and stem while holding them out of contract with each other.

1'2. In a key operated coincidental lock, a locking bolt, a cam operated ignition switch, means for positively holding the locking bolt in unlocked position until the key is withdrawn from the lock, and means laterally projecting from said bolt for holding the ignition switch in circuit closing position when said ignition switch has otherwise been freed by movement of its cam.

13. In an ignition switch, a plurality of contacts, a third contact for bridging said first mentioned contacts to close the ignition circuit, a stem projecting from the third contact, spring means surrounding said stem resiliently to hold the third contact from bridging position, a member laterally eX- tending from the stem and then bent at right angles into substantial parallelism with the axis of the stem, and a cam for engaging the laterally extending member to raise the third Contact against the action of its spring. Y

l. In a look, a Cam having tWo notches and a one-Way notch between them, a locking member having a stud in engagement with the cam and adapted to rest in Said notches, a sliding member movable by said Cam, and means for holding the stud out of contact with the cam and the sliding member against movement.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES N.y FAIRCHILD. 

